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Skip Ward papers

 Collection
Identifier: LaRC-1074

Scope and Contents

The papers of Blanchard "Skip" Ward, a resident of Alexandria, Louisiana who was one of the pioneering members of LGBTQ activism in Louisiana. He focused the majority of his efforts on the rural and religious members of the queer community. His efforts are linked to nearly every queer activist group in Louisiana and many others nationwide.

Dates

  • 1971-2006

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to the public. This collection may contain personally identifying information. Patrons are asked to neither record or reveal personally identifying information.

Conditions Governing Use

Physical rights are retained by the Louisiana Research Collection. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Biographical / Historical

Blanchard “Skip” Ward, born September 17th, 1920, was raised in Alexandria, Louisiana. After serving in the United States Marine Corps and traveling throughout the United States and abroad, he returned to central Louisiana in his adulthood, where he remained for the rest of his life. He became increasingly involved in LGBTQIA activism in the early 1970s, when he first came out as homosexual in a Unitarian church in Baton Rouge and went on to co-found the Unitarian/Universalist Church’s Gay Caucus. He also created Louisiana’s first publication tailored to its gay population, called Le Beau Monde. Skip Ward held some form of membership with nearly every Louisiana LGBTQIA organization from the 1970s onward and was particularly active in the Louisiana Lesbian and Gay Political Action Caucus, a political activist organization, and the Radical (or Raedical) Faeries, a national organization for rural-based gender and sexual non-conforming spiritualists.

Extent

8.00 Boxes

4 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

The collection consists of eight boxes and is four linear feet.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the LGBT Community Center of New Orleans. Date acquired: 03/09/2012.

Processing Information

Processed by Lauren Kwiatkowski in 2012. Accruals processed by Althea Topek in 2017.

Title
Skip Ward papers finding aid
Status
Completed
Author
Originally written by Lauren Kwiatkowski.
Date
2017-7-11
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Tulane University Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Jones Hall Room 202
6801 Freret Street
New Orleans 70118 US